AEDC’s 2009 economic impact exceeds $760 million Published Nov. 18, 2009 By Darbie Sizemore AEDC/PA Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn. -- Arnold Engineering Development Center's (AEDC) economic impact - which includes AEDC and its remote operating locations - the Hypervelocity Tunnel 9 at White Oak in Silver Spring, Md., and the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex at Moffett Field, Calif. - exceeded $760 million. This represents a 4.5 percent or $33 million increase from fiscal year (FY) 2008. The largest factor in the increase was the $27.8 million Turbine Engine Dry Air Capability project here. Each location impacted the local areas through payroll, secondary jobs created through local spending, and other expenditures for supplies, utilities, fuel and services and the spin-off impact of those purchases. AEDC's impact for each operating location is: Tennessee $725 million, Maryland $12 million and California $23 million. AEDC employed a mixture of active-duty military personnel from the Air Force and Navy; Department of Defense civilians; and contractor personnel, which totaled 2,677 personnel in FY 2009. Of the 2,677 personnel, 59 were active-duty military; 16 Air Force Reserve and National Guard; 249 appropriated fund civilian employees (includes general schedule, federal wage board and other military branches); 56 government non-appropriated fund employees; 42 other civilians (credit union, base exchange and commissary tenants); and 2,255 contractor and sub-contractor employees. Additionally, using the Tennessee Valley Authority economic impact model methodology, AEDC estimated that approximately 1,850 secondary jobs were created in the local area, for a total of 4,524 jobs directly related to AEDC. Examples of secondary jobs include those created by home construction, and at local supermarkets, car dealerships and department stores. During FY 2009, the payroll cost for AEDC government and contractor personnel was $176 million. AEDC's direct expenditures - which include utility costs, service contracts with outside vendors, and military health insurance paid to local doctors and hospitals - was more than $320 million. Furthermore, the indirect spin-off impact of these direct expenditures is approximately $264 million. The overall economic impact figure does not include the estimated $170.5 million paid to retired military personnel and the $30 million paid to retired AEDC government and contractor civilians living in the local area. In total, the two retired pay groups generate more than $76 million in spin-off effect. When those figures are added in, AEDC's economic impact soars to more than $1 billion. Additionally, these figures do not include the impact from test customers like Pratt & Whitney, General Electric or other companies who maintain staff at AEDC to manage tests of their products or participate in the test process. When the monetary amount of customer field offices are added, AEDC's economic impact further exceeds $1 billion. The economic impact data and secondary employment estimates represent AEDC's economic impact during FY 2009, which runs from Oct. 1, 2008 to Sep. 30, 2009. In addition, AEDC operates the world's largest complex of flight simulation facilities with a replacement value of more than $11.3 billion.